The collection

The Treger/Saint Silvestre Collection integrates more than a 1000 works of Art Brut, Singular Art and Contemporary Art. This specific nature turns it unique at the Iberian Peninsula. The Collection is one of the richest private collections in the world and englobes the classic Art Brut authors, such as Adolf Wölfli, Friedrich Schröder-Sonnenstern, Giovanni Battista Podestà and Oskar Voll, as well as more recent discoveries, like Ezekiel Messou, Guo Fengyi, Giovanni Galli, Miroslav Tichý and Eugene Von Bruenchenhein.

Since 2014 the Collection has been open to public at Núcleo de Arte da Oliva in the city of São João da Madeira in Portugal. In 2017 the Collection has received the “Collector” award by APOM – Portuguese Association of Museology.

Franco Bellucci

Italy, 1945

In 1962 at the age of seventeen Franco Bellucci became a victim of brain injury, which impaired his speaking ability, and was admitted to the Psychiatric hospital of Volterra where he remained until 1998. He was deemed a complicated and aggressive patient and was frequently tied to his bed. His transfer to the Residential Center Franco Basaglia produced a positive effect: recreational in nature, it allowed for the family weekend visits and free circulation within the center. It was there that Franco started crafting his first sculptures out of found materials, which were: discarded by the nurses toys and utensils, socks and pieces of garments stolen from other residents, wires and other tools discovered in the facility garden. The artist Ricardo Bargellini encouraged Franco: he highlighted a plausible behavioral change and understood the importance of the ritual that was accompanied by Franco producing husky rhythmical sounds. Bargellini was able to establish a friendly relationship with Franco and provided an opening to the world of textures and materials he had never seen before. Ricardo noted that once finished, Franco did not care for his creations and would dispose them. The sculptures are Franco’s way of interpreting and connecting with the world. As Gustavo Giacosa points out, the act of separating and uniting elements is the base for creation of Franco’s own cosmogology, a play of power and transformation.